Drivers bypassed lowered gates in 2 deadly crashes with Brightline trains, initial investigation reveals

MELBOURNE — Two deadly Brightline crashes within the span of two days happened after drivers drove around lowered gates, federal investigators stated in their preliminary report Friday.

The National Transportation Safety Board released more information on the death of a driver whose SUV was swept up and crushed by a Brightline train in Melbourne, about 70 miles southeast of Orlando, which is the train’s northernmost point.

On Jan. 10, the driver and three passengers were approaching a crossing at West H Jackson Street when the crossbar lowered for the oncoming train. The SUV drove around a vehicle that was stopped at the line behind the fully lower crossing gate, drove around the exposed side of the gate and entered the crossing, the NTSB report stated.

The SUV collided with the head of the Brightline train as it traveled north at 68 mph. While the driver died from the impact, the three passengers survived with serious injuries, the report said.

The NTSB is also looking into a similar incident that happened two days later in Melbourne. At the same crossing at 12:51 p.m., a Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck approached the tracks with the lowered gate, flashing lights and ringing bells, and drove around the crossbar, investigators determined. A southbound Brightline struck the pickup at 78 mph, the NTSB found. The driver and one passenger later died from injuries sustained in the crash. When a Brightline killed two people in Delray Beach last year, a similar NTSB investigation was conducted. While being investigated, Brightline continued to expand northward, sparking U.S. Congressman Brian Mast to call for a pause to Brightline’s expansion to Orlando through Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie Counties pending the investigation.

The NTSB listed the Florida East Railway as a party to the investigation along with Brightline. The report on the January deaths is continuing with the “intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events,” the report stated.